The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1887-11-10
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON THE
TARIFF.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON TIL
TARIFF.
Many people can scarcely realize
that they pay an enormous tax or
their clothing, and their IRON, and the
thousands of manufactured article:
that are necessaries.
Because they do not pay in the tax
at the stamp window of some office OF
to the sheriff they do not un
derstand how they pay it. AS an ex-
ample, few days since a steady, in
dustrious farmer came into the SENTI
MEL office and began: "Ifow is il
that | pay a tax on my clothing p
Then the editor told him Of how a tax
was put upon nearly all articles
brought from other countries, how the
tax was collected, &c, &c, but then
he came again. "But l don't yet see
that l pay any tax All, there was
the point, and what the SENTINEL
told him it believes would be we'll to
repeat TO the hundreds who have nev-
er studied the subject. 1t is simply
this: You buy suit of clothes and
pay $40 for it. OF that am unit more
than 50 is tax, paid into the United
States Treasury. Or, in other words,
suppose an English merchant sends a
suit over to America priced at Sill
before he can sell it he must pay into
the custom house So tax or duty. This
goes to the government, and he must
add that to his price. Now, as long
as this is the case, American manu-
facturers who make the same grade of
goods are going to sell them at $50,
and besides the profit Oh the 81 suit
of clothes, they retain the SO which
the Englishman pays into the treas
ury- IF that tax were abolished those
same goods could he bought for Sill.
But cur friend continued, "why
doesn't the government abolish that
tax and give our working people cheap
Clothes, cheap iron, &c?' Then we
explained to him that Congress alone
has the power to abolish it; that be-
fore any bill can become a law that it
must pass both the House and the
Senate.
(Which party is in favor Of reduc-
ing this tax p was the next query.
The Democratic party,-it alone is
in favor of giving the poor men cheap
clothes. 1t is the Republican party
that keeps up this tax, that is willing
for the iron making men of Pennsyl-
vania and the cloth manufacturers of
New England to grow rich while the
toilers suffer.
"But the Democrats have been in
power for nearly four years and they
ought to have removed this tax"
Yes, We have Democratic admins
Irrational majority in the House, butRe-
pu6lteans hare majority in..the Senate
and would see the poor labor ers freeze
before they would vote to take off this
grinding tax. aThese Repu blicans
are nearly all from Northern states
and they represent the manufacturers
aoho aciH spare neither labor nor money
to keep this cursed tariff up.
"When will this tax be taken off or
reduced?'
Just as soon as the Democrats get a
majority in the Senate, as well as in
the House. The Democratic party is
the loao tariff party, the Republican
the high tariff party. The one will re-
duce taxes on all necessaries as soon
as it can command the votes. The
other never will, it is linked with the
money kings and no hope for relief
lies in it for the working men of this
country. The Republican party is
controlled by corrupt rings and it
must be crushed out.
Reader, this is fair statement of
how the parties stand on the great
question of the tariff. If you believe
In low taxes, believe that the welfare
of the many is more to be desired than
that of the few, you should vote the
Democratic ticket; if you believe that
taxes ought to be kept high, that you
ought to pay twice as much for suit
of clothes, pound of coffee or keg
of nails as it is worth, that it's right
for few monopolists to roll in wealth
while the poor cry for bread, then
you must vote the Republican ticket.
:. Choose yethis day whom ye will
serve"